Now Archived: CMS Guidance and Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Wednesday, February 11, 201512:00 pm - 1:30 pm Location: Webinar

Webinar Description:

Earlier this year, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) released a guidance document related to services for those on the autism spectrum. Now it is left to individual states to grapple with what that means for each state. This webinar will feature presenters from AUCD, Easter Seals and the Autism Society, and provide perspective on how one state (Connecticut) has responded to the guidance.

Speakers:

Cathy Pratt

Dr. Cathy Pratt is the Director of the Indiana Resource Center for Autism at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community located at Indiana University. Dr. Pratt is on faculty at Indiana University, and presents internationally.

Dr. Pratt serves on the Panel of Professional Advisors for the Autism Society and is a member of NATTAP (Network of Autism Training and Technical Assistance Programs). Dr. Pratt served on the advisory board for the National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders grant funded through the US Department of Education and has recently been asked to serve on the advisory board for the Center for Secondary Education for Students with ASD also funded through the US DOE of Education. Dr. Pratt also assists with the coordination of the Autism Special Interest Group (SIG) through the Association of University Centers on Disability (AUCD).

Kim Musheno

Kim Musheno is the Director of Public Policy at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities where she works on federal policy and legislative issues that affect people with developmental disabilities and their families. She also provides leadership as Vice-Chair of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) Board of Directors, a coalition of more than 100 national disability organizations. Kim co-chairs the CCD Task Forces working on fiscal policy, developmental disabilities, and Autism, and serves on the Education and Employment Task Forces.

Prior to working at AUCD, Kim was a communications specialist at The Arc of the United States Governmental Affairs Office and research assistant at the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD).

Abbi Coursolle

Abigail Coursolle is a staff attorney in NHeLP's Los Angles office. She provides technical assistance, advocate training, and litigation support on a range of issues, with a special focus on low income health programs, Medicaid managed care, Medicaid expansion, and basic health programs. Currently, Abbi is working on a project overseeing the transition of enrollees in California's early expansion program into full Medicaid in 2014. She is also part of a project to provide training and technical assistance to state advocates on managed care and new coverage options under the Affordable Care Act.

Before joining NHeLP, Abbi was the Greenberg Traurig Equal Justice Works staff attorney at the Western Center on Law & Poverty. At Western Center, she led a 58-county project to enforce safety net laws for low income Californians and worked to implement policy changes within administrative agencies in order to fully implement health programs for low income individuals not eligible for Medicaid.

Denise Rozell

Denise Rozell joined the Easter Seals Office of Public Affairs in August 2001 as Assistant Vice President for State Government Relations. Denise is the primary resource to Easter Seals 75 affiliates in building capacity to increase awareness of and support for Easter Seals in state government. She provides training and consultation to affiliates and oversees the development of new resources to support government relations activities. Denise also connects affiliates on common issues of state policy and systems change including autism, Medicaid managed care, ACA implementation and health delivery system reform.

Prior to coming to Easter Seals, Denise was the Executive Director of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired, an international professional membership organization.

Tonia Ferguson

Tonia Ferguson is responsible for the Autism Society's public policy and external communications. She was the director of Autism NOW: The National Autism Resource and Information Center. She is a parent of a child with Down syndrome and ASD, and she has trained families and advocates on special education and family support issues at the Arc of Maryland. Ms. Ferguson was a Joseph P. Kennedy Foundation Fellow and worked for Sen. Christopher Dodd on education and early childhood issues. Before her time at the Arc, she managed a Family Support Project through the Administration on Developmental Disabilities.

Jennifer Bogin

Jennifer Bogin is the Director for the Division of Autism Spectrum Services at the Connecticut Department of Developmental Services. In her work in Connecticut Ms. Bogin has spearheaded efforts to secure coverage for autism services through Medicaid funding. Prior to DDS, Ms. Bogin worked as a Program Manager at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) where she worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the "Learn the Signs. Act Early" autism awareness campaign. Ms. Bogin is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA(r)) who received her Master's degree in behavioral education from Simmons College in Boston, MA. She began her career as a teacher of preschool children with emotional and behavioral disorders in a therapeutic nursery school in New York. After completing her Master's degree, Jennifer worked as an autism and behavior consultant providing services for public schools, early intervention agencies, and families in western Massachusetts.